Art show explores the strain incarceration puts on father-child relationships

“Devin Napope was away for much of his teenage daughter’s life — in and out of jail, battling addictions and out of town.

“Gone without a sound,” he said.

At 30, he’s a member of STR8UP, an organization that works with people trying to break away from gangs and criminal activity, and is working to heal both himself and his relationship with his daughter. A few months ago, through a program offered by STR8UP, he put his feelings on paper to express his love to his daughter and apologize for not being there for her.

“I’m just trying to reconnect with her and heal our broken hearts before it’s too late,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. His daughter is now 15.

“She’s experienced so much, but so little from me.”

The poem, One Broken Heart To Another, will be featured in the Dads Doin’ Time art show at SCYAP on Friday. All of the art and writing that will be showcased were created by men who are incarcerated or were in the past and have either been separated from their children or were separated from their fathers who were incarcerated during their own childhood.”